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Yellow cabs were making 445,000 trips per day in July 2013 — the last month they were the only type of car allowed to make on-street, hailed pickups. Five years later, they were doing just under 300,000, while Uber and Lyft combined for some 490,000. (iStock)

The average money brought in by yellow cab medallions dropped by nearly 30% between 2013 and 2018, from roughly $14,500 per month to $10,200.

And fewer medallions are in use today than six years ago.

In mid-April, more than 1,700 medallions were in storage for such reasons as repairs, bankruptcy or an owner’s death, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says. That’s up from just 100 stored medallions at any given time in 2013.

Yellow cabs were making 445,000 trips per day in July 2013 — the last month they were the only type of car allowed to make on-street, hailed pickups. Five years later, they were doing just under 300,000, while Uber and Lyft combined for some 490,000.

Nearly a million Uber and Lyft rides are sold each day, data shows. (iStock)

“Before Uber I was working five days a week, no more than 10 hours a day,” said Nino Hervias, 60, who has owned owned a medallion since 1990. “Today I have to work seven days a week, no less than 12 hours a day.”

Many drivers who bought medallions thinking they’d be a great investment are now drowning in debt.

Nicolae Hent, 62, bought a medallion in 1990 for $125,000. After years of shifting interest rates and new cars, he expects to be able to pay off his loan in the next five years, at which time he hopes to retire.

Taxi driver Nicolae Hent is pictured in Queens on Saturday.He's been driving taxis for 31 years. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

But not all drivers are in such good financial shape.

“Everybody who had bought the medallions in 2013 or 2014 — not too many of them will be on the road because they filed for bankruptcy," Hent said.

Hent’s friend and fellow cab driver Nicandor Ochisor hanged himself in 2018. Ochisor was one of nine New York City taxi drivers to commit suicide over the past 18 months.

While Uber and Lyft have cut into the taxi cab industry’s bottom line, they’ve also more than doubled the number of ride hails New Yorkers take. Nearly a million Uber and Lyft rides are sold each day, data shows.

Hardly anyone involved in the hailed-ride business is rolling in cash. That goes for people involved in yellow taxis as well as those involved with Uber, Lyft and other e-hail operations.

Nicolae Hent's taxi medallion is pictured in Queens on Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

Uber and Lyft lost money on the bulk of their rides as they slash rates to control more of the market.

The companies’ reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission — filed in conjunction with their recent initial public offerings — give insight into their strategies.

In its filing, Uber said, “increased competition may prevent us from improving our margins over time or achieving profitability.”

Even while the corporate giants are losing money on rides, their services are not necessarily cheaper than taxis.

“They’re not cheaper in Manhattan, and I’m not even sure they’re cheaper in the boroughs,” transportation consultant Bruce Schaller said of Uber and Lyft. “I think they’ve taken so much of the market share because it’s a better customer experience. It’s a no-hassle experience.”

The city has put in place some regulations recently to curb the impact that Uber and Lyft have had on the city’s streets and the yellow cab industry.

Last summer, the city froze the number of for-hire vehicles permitted in the city. Uber is suing the over that cap.

A surcharge went into effect at the start of February, tacking a $2.75 fee onto app-based rides that go through Manhattan below 96th St. Cabs are being charged $2.50 for entering the same zone with a passenger in tow.